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Welcome to our Big News section for all the latest news concerning Military Disability.

We'll do our best to keep you up to date on everything that could affect your disability. Since the majority of our news will cover legal issues that can be dragged out for a long time, if you'd like an update on an issue, let us know, and we'll do what we can.

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Monday, May 22, 2017

VA Creates Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection

On April 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order
to improve accountability at the VA and protect whistleblowers. This order gives
the VA 45 days to create an Office of Accountability and Whistleblower
Protection. A Special Assistant will be the Executive Director of the new
office and will report directly to the VA Secretary.

On May 12, just 15 days after the signing of the Executive
Order, VA Secretary David Shulkin announced the creation of this Office and
named Peter O’Rourke as Senior Advisor and Executive Director.

The duties of the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower
Protection include helping the Secretary use all available resources to either
discipline or fire employees who fail to adequately care for the needs of our
veterans. Handling veterans’ complaints on wrongdoing quickly and efficiently
will be a primary goal of this Office.

In addition, the Executive Director will work to identify
legal roadblocks that make it difficult for the VA to either discipline or fire
employees who have endangered the life or health of a veteran. Once these
barriers have been identified, the Secretary can seek to change those laws by
working with Congress. The Executive Director will work with other VA
departments to ensure that reports or complaints of wrongdoing are investigated
thoroughly and quickly and that VA-wide corrections are speedily put in place.

This Office will also work with the Secretary to protect
whistleblowers from any type of retaliation, thereby creating an environment
where problems can be reported without fearing of losing one’s job.

In another positive light, the Director will help to
identify any legal barriers that limit the VA’s ability to hire, reward, and/or
keep outstanding employee performers so that the Secretary can seek legislative
solutions from Congress.

Along similar lines, both houses of Congress have reached
bipartisan support for reform bills that would make it possible for the VA to
more easily achieve these accountability goals. The bills are still in
committee and both Houses are working to come to an agreement on a final
version to send to the President. We will continue to monitor this legislation
and report on any progress.

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About Me

As a retired Air Force Colonel and physician, I am a Military Disability and VA Disability specialist. As a physician, I have specialties in preventive medicine, occupational medicine, and healthcare administration. While on active duty, I had direct responsibility over preventive medicine for all military members in deployed environments and contingency operations. Since retiring, I have worked as a contractor for the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR), reviewing military disability cases, and for the VA, performing C&P exams.